


Happy Birthday, Wee Lad

by Mycroffed



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: And uncle Alec has provided some gifts, Demisexual Alec Hardy, Established Relationship, F/M, Few years in the future actually, It's Fred's birthday, Post-Season/Series 03, Softness, though it's less out there than the previous one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:09:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29519958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mycroffed/pseuds/Mycroffed
Summary: Fred's birthday is coming closer, and his mother and uncle Alec give gifts.
Relationships: Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	Happy Birthday, Wee Lad

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by me playing my Switch. I needed softness and while there's plenty out there, I wanted to write some of my own. This is mostly me distracting myself from deadlines.

It had taken Fred months to convince his parents that a Nintendo Switch was a great idea. Months. Ever since one of his classmates, his name was James, Ellie seemed to remember, her youngest had only been talking about getting a switch. When he wasn't talking about how convenient it was that he would be able to play both on the go as well as on the big screen, it was about games that James had shown him.

But her answer had been 'no', no matter how many tantrums followed. She wasn't going to buy a three hundred something console so briefly after the holidays, not without a proper reason.

Fred kept trying, however.

When he realised that he wouldn't be able to convince his mom on his own, he employed some more sneaky tactics - or at least they were in Ellie's eyes: he talked about it during one of the dinners that Alec was there. Y'see, Alec and Ellie had been dating for a month or two now, and while it was becoming more and more frequent that the detective inspector would stay for the night at Ellie's house, they hadn't officially moved in together yet. (Ellie had given him a spare key recently, and that had been a huge development.)

Tonight was one of those nights. Alec and Ellie had brought home some files for the case that they were working on, and after a call from Daisy to ask when Alec would come home, the two Hardys had been officially invited to have dinner with the Millers. Daisy was told to make her way over, while Ellie and Alec scrambled something together that was supposed to resemble a dinner for five.

By the time Daisy was there, they had managed to make something they would all enjoy. They all assembled around the dinner table – some with more complains than others – right when Fred decided to have another go at it.

“Uncle Alec?”

“Hmm?” The DI glanced up from his plate towards the youngest Miller.

“James has a Nintendo Switch.” No subtlety whatsoever was employed here by the kid. Ellie was almost smiling, because she could absolutely see where this was going.

“Does he now?” Alec, on the other hand, could not.

“Yeah! And he has Mario Party, and Mario Kart 8! And he can play that with the rest of the family!” Fred was launching into the speech that he had perfected by now.

Alec glanced up towards Ellie, finally starting to get an inkling as to what Fred might be wanting to achieve. She mouthed along with Fred, as the six-year-old explained that it was possible to play both docked and in handheld and he would be able to buy his own games and—

“Alright, lad, I think I can see where ye’re goin’.” Alec said softly.

Silence fell over the table once again, as everyone just continued to eat in peace. Both Ellie and Alec glanced at Fred every once in a while. Ellie could see that there was something else the young boy wanted to say, she could see it in the way that he was wiggling a little bit. Her youngest really had not figured out how to be subtle, huh? (It was adorable.)

“Uh… Uncle Alec?” Fred piped up a few minutes later, right after he’d stuffed his mouth with a whole bite.

“We don’t talk with our mouth full, Fred,” Ellie said, before she booped her youngest’s nose. “You can ask whatever you want once you’ve swallowed the food in your mouth.”

Fred paled a little, the nerves rolling off of him in waves, but nodded. He chewed his food quietly, which was just enough time for Alec and Ellie to make eye contact. She sent him an apologetic smile, which he returned with a little shrug.

“Uncle Alec?” He tried again.

“Yes, m’lad?” Alec lowered his fork full in favour to actually look at Fred.

“Do you know it’s my birthday soon?” Fred’s voice was quieter than before, when he’d launched into his defence of the Switch.

“I do, Fred.” Alec could most definitely put two and two together.

“Just … wanted you to know.” Fred said, and that seemed to be it for now.

Alec nodded to Fred, then turned his attention back to the food on his plate. Once everyone at the table had decided that Fred was done talking, Daisy piped up. “Y’know, I’ve been wanting to play Mario Kart for ages.”

Fred turned to Daisy, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn’t expected to get an ally from such an unexpected corner, it seemed.

But Daisy went above and beyond. “And I think that you’d like that game too, dad.”

Ellie turned towards Alec, an eyebrow raised. The DI just grumbled something in response to that, but she could see him thinking. Oh dear. Her son was going to end up with a Switch, wasn’t he?

\--~--

Later that evening, when the youngest had gone to bed and the other two had made their way back to their own bedrooms – Daisy had, of course, been dropped off by Alec at the house halfway up the hill – Alec brought up the subject again. “I think Fred would really like a Switch for his birthday,” he mumbled against Ellie’s shoulder.

Ellie chuckled softly, amused at the way he’d phrased it. “You should’ve been here the last few days. It’s been nothing but ‘Switch this’ and ‘Switch that’.”

“D’ye think that we should get him one?” He asked her, before he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

A shiver ran down her spine, but she pushed down the urge to pull him in for a proper snog. He’d initiate it if he were in the mood for that. “I don’t think he’ll ever stop mentioning it.”

“Well, he’ll have to, eventually,” Alec chuckled softly. That earned him a gentle and playful shove from Ellie, who dramatically rolled her eyes at him. “But it might take a few years.”

“Exactly.” Ellie agreed.

“I’ll take a look online t’morrow,” Alec said eventually. “Then we’ll have an idea of jus’ how expensive it is.”

“Okay, love,” she nodded. She then turned towards him, and gazed at him lovingly. “How’re we feeling today?”

Instead of answering that question, Alec leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. After all, that was all the answer she needed.

\--~--

The morning of Fred’s birthday, her youngest came running into her bedroom at an ungodly hour. He jumped upon the bed – which luckily didn’t contain Alec – and started shaking her shoulder. She grumbled a quiet ‘Fred, sweetheart’, but he didn’t seem to hear it. No, quite the opposite.

“Mumma, mumma, mumma, mumma, mumma!” He got up on his feet and jumped up and down on the bed next to her. “It’s mah birthday!”

For a moment, her baby had a Scottish twang to his English, and Ellie couldn’t help but smile. The only place where he could have picked that up was from Alec. She loved the idea that her son and her lover were getting so close that he was having a lasting effect on little Fred.

“Hmm, yes it is, baby,” she rolled over, and opened her eyes to look up at the face of a very excited seven-year-old. “Happy birthday, my sweet love.”

“It’s mah birthday, it’s mah birthday, it’s _mah birthday_!” Fred was half dancing at that point, before he let himself fall onto the bed. He cuddled up with his mother, who was more than happy to allow it.

“Why don’t we take another nap? Uncle Alec is not going to get here for another—” She glanced at the clock standing on the nightstand. “—Two more hours. How ‘bout we just nap a little?”

Fred was debating whether that was a good idea, but both Alec and his mum had explained many times over that there would be no presents before his uncle got there. And this was a warm spot, and his mother had effectively trapped him in her embrace and—

It was about two hours later before either of them woke up again, and this time it was because of the doorbell that was ringing. Loudly. Delightful. Her youngest whined in her arms, but a gentle nudge and a whispered reminder that it was his birthday put a quick stop to that. In fact, he jumped out of her arms and ran down the stairs, right to the front door. She could hear the loud ‘uncle Alec’ echoing through the house.

Rather than follow her son, she took a moment to get dressed, then followed the exact road that her son had just taken. She had just appeared at the top of the stairs when Fred came running back towards her. “Mumma, mumma, uncle Alec is here! And he brought presents!” He grinned. “I’m gonna go get Tom!”

She stepped to the side so that Fred could dash right past her, and so that she could continue her way down the stairs. The moment the little rascal had disappeared into Tom’s room, she rushed towards Alec, who pulled her into a soft embrace, and even pressed a kiss to her lips in greeting.

“Hi,” he hummed.

“Hi,” she smiled.

“Yer lad is goin’ to have the best day of his life,” he chuckled.

“Did you get everything he’s been talking about?” She asked, glancing at the bags in his hands.

“And no games with any sort of guns, Ellie,” he said softly. “Or any type of unnecessary violence.”

Ellie nodded. Her boy didn’t need those kinds of influences in his life, not after what his father had done. She really didn’t want to risk it. Her smile faltered for a moment as she thought back to Joe and the wreck she’d been after his crime had come to light. But Alec noticed, Alec always noticed, and he gently cupped her cheek. “Fred’s birthday, love. An’ I was careful, promise.”

Her lips trembled a little, almost but not quite became a smile, as she hid her face in his shoulder for just a moment. “Thank you.”

Of course, it was at that point that Fred came rushing back. Immediately, a smile reappeared around Ellie’s lips. She stepped away from Alec, so that she wouldn’t get an ‘ew’ from her son. While she could still feel the other detective’s hand on her lower back.

“Mumma, mumma, mumma!” The seven-year-old came running towards her, his footprints the only thing echoing through the house, along with his voice.

“There comes the birthday boy!” Ellie smiled, as she knelt down so that Fred could run straight into her arms (which he promptly did).

“Uncle Alec, can we do presents now?” Fred almost immediately pushed himself away from his mother, his eyes trained on his uncle. “Pretty please?”

Alec turned towards Ellie, an eyebrow raised at her. Did she think that was a good idea, or should they wait for a little longer? Her response was a little shrug. They both knew that they wouldn’t get peace until Fred unwrapped the presents that he was carrying.

“Alright, wee lad. I’ve got some presents from both yer mom an’ I. So why don’t ye take a seat?” He gestured at the sofa, which the young boy immediately bounced towards. Once Fred was sitting on there, Alec placed a small box in his lap.

It only took Fred a few seconds to unwrap it, and his eyes lit up. “Mario Kart!” He grinned, as he held it up towards his parents. “But we don’t have a Switch!”

“Ach no. Well, we must return that game then, don’t we?” He turned towards Ellie, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh yes, it must’ve been a mistake, Fred. I’m sorry.” She sat down next to her youngest, and held her hand out towards the game.

“No!” Fred pulled the game against his chest, glaring at the two of them. “No, ‘s my present!” He protested.

“Hmm,” Alec sighed dramatically. “Well, we should move on then, I s’pose?”

Fred started to bounce again, grinning brightly as he placed the game besides him. “More presents! More presents!”

“Ellie, do ye have any more presents fer this wee lad?” He dramatically glanced up at her. “’Cause I’ve ran out of presents.”

“No, no! That’s not true!” Fred pointed at the bag, which contained at least two more presents. (Alec really had let himself go, hadn’t he? Oh, this man.)

“Now, Fred, these presents are both from uncle Alec and from me too.” Ellie said softly, before she reached into the bag and handed another small present out. Before she’d even given him a soft kiss, Fred had already snatched it out of her hands. He tore into the present like it contained food and he’d been starved for weeks.

The young lad’s eyes lit up as another switch game, this time Animal Crossing, ended up in his hands. “Another Switch game!”

“We really should have taken note of the fact we don’t have a Switch, Ellie,” Alec said. “He can’t do anything with those presents now.”

“There’s another present!” Fred bounced up and down on the sofa, pointing at the bag again. “There’s another one!”

This time it was a bigger box, clearly not a game. Ellie didn’t know much about gaming consoles, but she knew that no game had a box that big. At least not something that Alec would be willing to get Fred. She smiled reassuringly as Alec reached into the bag and handed the last present over to Fred. This time, he carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper. He could feel that this one was different (or so Ellie assumed). Slowly but surely, the box of a Nintendo Switch console was revealed.

Fred’s glee could barely be contained.

He jumped up, flung himself at Alec, then at his mother. Ellie gladly received that hug then sent Fred up the stairs to show the games to Tom. It was time for breakfast anyway. The boy would only go if she promised she’d get the Switch set up for after breakfast.

Alec nodded and got to work.

\--~--

After some negotiating, Ellie got Fred to eat his breakfast calmly, but also get dressed and even had a bit of a wash, though she had to lie to get him to do that. (A white lie, she told herself. He’d forgive her for that.)

Eventually, she could no longer contain the ball of energy that was Fred Miller, and he found himself on the sofa, staring at Alec as he was trying valiantly to figure out just how to get the bloody thing hooked up to the telly.

Tom had made his way downstairs as well at that point, and he was sitting next to Alec, giving him directions. Ellie couldn’t help but smile at the three of them, her new little family. Maybe she should—

Before she could finish that thought, a triumphant sound came from the television set. “Ah! Got it goin’, wee lad! Which game would ye like to play first?”

Before Alec had finished his sentence, Fred had already jumped off the sofa to push the box of Mario Kart into his hands. He nodded, opened it up and then put it into the designated ‘game card’ area. They started the software and—

Downloads.

Fred was so close to tears, but luckily his brother came to the rescue. Tom glanced at the screen once, then cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uhm, Fred?”

The youngest looked over, trying so hard to keep his composure over something so silly. Not trusting his voice, he just nods.

“I got you a present too.” Tom scooted over on the sofa, then handed a small present to his little brother. “Happy birthday.”

Sufficiently distracted, Fred unwrapped that present as well, his eyes widening as it turned out to be a Lego set with one of his favourite superheroes. The disappointment of the switch temporarily forgotten, Fred opened the box and got all the little Lego pieces out.

As the seven-year-old struggled with putting that little set together – Tom quickly offered a helping hand – Ellie walked over to him and gently ruffled his hair. He glanced up and smiled at her. They exchanged a knowing look and for not the first time, she suddenly felt really grateful for Tom and the young man he had grown up to become. She made a mental note to tell him how grateful she was for that little moment.

Alec was quickly roped into playing the Joker, while Fred pommelled into his Lego figure with his own Batman. Tom was (luckily for him) excused from that scene, though he did seem to stick around in the living room. Maybe Fred wasn’t the only one who was excited for the Switch.

Right before Batman completely pulverized the little Lego Joker, the gaming console made a quiet beep, announcing to all four of them that the software had been downloaded. Immediately, the Lego was abandoned. Alec handed Fred a controller and Ellie couldn’t help but watch as his son instinctively seemed to know what he needed to do. Before she had figured out what was going on, the first race was already going.

Three rounds around a circuit, and Fred won easily. Cheers erupted from all onlookers as the car on the screen crossed the finish line. Fred then turned towards Alec. “Will ye race with me?”

“I—” Alec glanced at Ellie, who just raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure, lad. Ye’ll have to explain just which buttons I have to press, though.”

This launched the youngest Miller into a quick explanation of the game and the buttons. Ellie suspected that he left a few essential elements out, but she didn’t say anything. Alec would have to find out the hard way.

She could see the tenseness in her lover’s shoulders as he got ready on the sofa next to Fred, a controller in his hands as well. She walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and sent her a small smile.

Of course Fred took the opportunity of him being distracted to start the race.

“Oi!” Alec exclaimed the moment that he noticed. “That’s cheatin’, ye wee devil.”

But the countdown hadn’t begun yet, so he had plenty of time still. Cheekily, Fred pressed a few buttons, and then zoomed off, as Alec was left behind at the starting line.

“How are ye that much faster than me at the start?” He frowned at the controller, clearly trying to figure out what was going on with the game. He got the car going, but as he tried to take the first corner, he already crashed against the sides. Both Tom and Ellie chuckled at that.

She leaned a little closer and whispered in his ear: “This is why you are not allowed to drive.”

He practically snorted, which only caused him to miss another turn. It was no surprise to anyone that Alec lost each and every race that Fred challenged him to. Tom defeated him just as easily, and even Ellie seemed to be able to defeat him at this game, much to his own chagrin.

Most of the day was spent in a similar fashion. Every time that Alec seemed to master something, seemed to get better, Fred had gotten leagues ahead of him again. A little after lunch, Alec decided that he rather wanted to see the other game that they’d gotten Fred. After some convincing, Fred switched to Animal Crossing.

Ellie decided that her two sons could be left alone for this, and stepped away to the bedroom to get changed. She couldn’t stay in her PJs for the rest of the day, or could she? In fact, she was going to leave her two sons in Alec’s very capable hands, and take a moment to herself. Time to take a bath.

They must have switched back the racing game at some point, because she could hear frustrated Scottish noises coming from downstairs. Ah. She could get used to this.

\--~--

It was even harder to get Fred to go to sleep that evening. He kept asking whether he could take his Switch to bed, whether he could keep playing in bed for a while. He got to stay up for an hour longer than usual, and by then, no matter how hard he tried to stay awake, the youngest Miller had fallen asleep. Alec carefully lifted him up and carried him to bed. Ellie tucked him in gently, then turned off the light in his room.

“I hope he had a good birthday,” she whispered to Alec, who was still standing next to him.

The Scot pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head. “’m sure that he had the best one yet.”

“Thanks for being here.” She wrapped one arm around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder. “Would you like to stay over for the night?”

With a small smile, he guided her out of that bedroom and closed the door behind him. No need to wake Fred up, after all. “Anytime you’d like me to.”

\--~--

The evening was spent lazing about on the sofa. They didn’t get many opportunities like this, usually they were called by work whenever they felt like a calm day. However, it seemed like the criminals of Broadchurch had taken note of the importance of the date and had decided to lay low. There were no new crises, no new cases that suddenly demanded the pair of them. It was peaceful.

Ellie couldn’t help but smile to herself as she sat on the sofa, watching Midsomer Murders on the telly. (She didn’t care that it was a show pensioners usually watched, she liked it.) About halfway through the case, Alec grumbled ‘he did it’ when one of the characters came on screen.

She nudged him, but this was a dance they’d played often before. It was a game they played: who could figure it out first? It wasn’t _just_ between the pair of them, but also between them and the detectives on the telly. After all, they were detectives. They should be able to solve it fairly quickly. Right?

Most of the time they succeeded, most of the time they got all the clues before the detectives spelled it out. Sometimes it was Alec who figured it out first, the other time it was Ellie. This time, however, it was a stretch. The clues together didn’t make any sense, and it was only when it was very, _very_ obvious (five minutes before the exposition) that the pair of them had a eureka-moment.

“Not a very good episode,” Alec grumbled.

“Agreed,” Ellie said. “Way too unclear where it was going.”

After that, they’re done with the television. They turn it off, give each other a gentle kiss, and decide that really, it’s time for sleep. They brush their teeth, they get dressed. Ellie asks how Alec’s feeling, whether he’s feeling up for anything. He shakes his head, and so they cuddle up together, and she soon drifts off to sleep.

\--~--

It’d been a while since Ellie hadn’t slept through the night when Alec was staying over. Usually the feeling of someone in the same bed as her was enough for her. It took her a moment to realise that she was awake, that this wasn’t a very vivid dream. She glanced at the clock. Three fifteen am.

She then rolled over to look for Alec for cuddles, only to find the bed empty and cold. Where was he? She groaned to herself – was she really about to get up when he could just as easily just be in the bathroom? – then sat up on the bed. She reached out to his side of the bed and realised that it was cold. Not ‘he just went to the bathroom’ cold, but ‘he has been gone for about half an hour’ cold. Where was he?

“Alec!” She whisper-shouted, but there was no reaction. “Damnit, Alec.”

Now that she was up, she decided that she was going to make one of her sleepy-time teas. She made her way down the stairs as quietly as she could, hoping not to wake her kids. She managed to avoid that one creaky step that she usually forgot, and let out a breath of relief as she didn’t hear any doors open.

She made her way towards the living room, getting ready to go to the kitchen, when she heard some noises coming from the screen. A little frown settled between her brows. She distinctly remembered turning that off. Did Fred sneak down to play the Switch? He’d be in massive trouble if he did. She prepared herself for a quiet shouting match and walked over towards the sofa.

Only it wasn’t Fred she found there.

It was Alec Hardy, a controller in his hands.

Alec Hardy was sitting on the sofa, staring at the screen where a little car was driving over a rainbow road. And he was doing surprisingly well too, compared to his previous attempt. He must have been going at it for a while, then.

He didn’t seem to have noticed her yet, so she gave him a moment to finish the race – he ended in third position – before she cleared her throat. She couldn’t help but grin to herself as he jumped. “Millah—” he grumbled, as he put down the controller.

“Sneaky bugger,” she grinned, as she sat down next to him. “How long have you been practicing?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said, as he leaned against her. “Thought that if I was gonna be awake, I could spend my time usefully.”

“Pippa?” She asked, her voice suddenly very gentle and soft.

He shook his head. “Same place, same creek, but not—” He sighed. “Not Pippa.”

She nodded as he gently pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Such a soft gesture, but she knew that it was to help him ground himself. He was trying to make sure that she was real, that he wasn’t imagining this. That this wasn’t another dream. She watched him as he pulled back a little, sent him a reassuring little smile, which softened even more as they made eye contact. He was tired, she could see it in his eyes, but also stubborn.

“I’m here though, love,” she said. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Didn’t want t’wake ye.” He leaned in a little more, his lips now nipping at her cheek. “Didn’t want to worry ye.”

She leaned into his touch, but she wasn’t going to wait until he reached her lips. Quite the opposite. She went straight for it, delighted to discover that he kissed her right back. One of her hands entangled with the short strands of his hair at the back of his neck. Those were her favourite to play with. They were long enough to twirl them around her finger, which she was currently doing.

“You can always wake me up, love.” She informed him as he pulled back.

“I know.” He mumbled.

“Then why didn’t you?”

He grumbled something inaudible, something she didn’t quite catch. But she didn’t ask again, and instead just pressed a kiss to his cheek. “How about we try and catch another nap? You look like you’re about to collapse.”

Another grumble, but he did start to go through the movements to shut down the Switch again. He pulled back, then put the controller in the charging dock and turned back towards her. “What are ye doin’ here?”

“Planning on making some tea,” she said. “But I won’t need it if you come and join me.”

Alec needed a moment to debate that, but then he nodded. He took her hand in his, pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek again, and then gently pulled her towards the stairs again. Immediately, she followed, her footsteps quieter than his. He took a few steps, but she immediately stopped him.

“Watch out, that’s the creaky one,” she whispered, though she was just too late. His foot had already made contact, and the sound was so loud in the silence of the house.

“Right on time,” he whispered back, but there was no heat behind it. Just warmth, just fondness.

They stood there for a moment in silence after that, hoping that nobody moved. (And luckily, the house remained quiet.) The rest of their little trek upstairs happened in complete silence, right until they collapsed onto their bed.

She thought she quite liked this, quite liked the idea of him being there all the time. She glanced at him, the look in her eyes so gentle and soft.

"Move in with me."

"Okay."

They curled up around each other again, got comfortable once again, and before she knew it, she’d drifted back to sleep. She didn’t wake up until her alarm went off, and Alec pressed a kiss to her cheek.


End file.
